Fire destroys Barnesville home

Damage estimated at $400,000 for house on Beallsville Road

This story was corrected on April 28, 2011. An explanation follows the story.

Fire destroyed a house in Barnesville on April 20, causing an estimated $400,000 in damage.

A passerby called 911 about 4 p.m. after seeing fire coming from a house in the 22200 block of Beallsville Road.

Police officers arrived first, and fearing children in the family of five might be home, opened up doors and windows, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. No one was home, but the family's German shepherd puppy ran out of the house, he said.

There were no fire hydrants near the house, which is in a rural part of the county. Water had to be brought in by tanker truck for firefighters, Garcia said.

The house was engulfed in fire and is uninhabitable, he said. The second story of the single-family house collapsed into the first so fire investigators will be unable to enter the house to investigate the cause until the structure is reinforced, Garcia said.